Improvement in coal-mining apparatus



4Sheets-Sheet 1. G. E. DONISTHORPE, W. PIRTH& R. RIDLBY.

COAL MINING APPARATUS.

4sneens-sheet 2. G. E. DONISTHORPE, W, FIRTH 8v R. RIDLEY.

GOAL MINING APPARATUS.

Patented May 10, 1864 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. G. E. DONISTHORPE, W. PIRTH 8v R. RIDLEY.

GOAL MINING APPARATUS.

N0. 42,724. Patented May 10, 1864.

4Sheets--Shee't 4. G. E. DONISTHORPE, W. FIRTH 8v R. RIDLBY.

y GOAL MNING APPARATUS. No. 42,724.

Patented May 10, 1864.

I lllillllllll( UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, GEORGE EDMUND DONIs'rnoEPE, WILLIAM EIETH,AND ROBERT` RIDLEY,

- OE LEEDS,

ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT lN COAL-MINING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,724, dated May l0, 1364.

.To a@ whom z may concern:

Be 1t known that we, GEORGE EDMUND DoNIsrHoRrE and WILLIAM FIRTH, ofLeeds,

inthe county of York, merchants, and R013-,

ERT RIDLEY, of Leeds, aforesaid, engineer, subjects of-the Queen of Great Britain, have yinvented or discovered new and useful Imcoal mines, it is required to/make longitudinal horizontal grooves, and also vertical or upright grooves, communicating with each other, so as to divide the upright face" of the work into sections bounded on the two sides, and at the lower or upper, or both lower a-nd up per, parts with grooves of such depth or extent as is desired for determining the sizes of the sections which shall be removed by blasting or otherwise from the upright surface which is being worked, and such horizontal and upright grooves have heretofore for themost part been made by hand-labor, using picks with handles, though it has been proposed to mount similar picks on carriages moved on rail or tramwaysvand to give motion to such picks by the reaction of springs wound up by manual or other power, and reciprocating cutters or picks, the stems of which slide horizontally in guides mounted transversely on carriages arranged to move on rails or-tram ways have also before been proposed to be used, the sliding stems of the picks or cutting-tools being actuated by manual labor; and it has also been proposed to use compressedair engines in giving motion to .drills for drilling holes into the coal or l stone or mineral at intervals, in order to facilitate the Working of mines, and in other cases in giving motion to rotating tools suitably constructed to break` and pulverize the upright face ofthe end of adrift or tunnel.

N ovv, our invention consists in combining, as

m r l hereinafter described, com pressed-air engines with picks and cnttingftools, such as are hereinafter explained, which are mounted on carriages moved on and `guided by rail or tram ways, such picks or cutting-tools being arranged to out longitudinal', horizontal and also upright grooves to the desired depth or extent into the upright face of tliewor'lt, and thus to divide the work into rectangular scc tions, each section being bounded by grooves on three or four sides. For these purposes a carriage mounted on wheels suitable for being moved ou a rail or tram way, which is laid down parallel with the upright surface of the work, is employed, on which is placed a compressed-air engine which is constantly in connection by a suitable pipe with machineryr at. a distance arranged in a suitable manner to keep up a constant supply of compressed air to the compressed-air engine on the carriage before mentioned, and a flexible length of pipe is used between the compressed-air engine and the fixed air-pipe in order to allow of the carriage moving a distance along the work. On the carriage is applied any desired number of picks on lever-handles moving on axes, the lever-handles being by preference cranked levers, so that at one end the pick is applied, and at the other end the lever is acted on directly, or is attached by aconnecting rod or rods to the piston rod or rods ot the compressed-air engine; hence as the earriage is moved at intervals along the face of the work horizontal longitudinal grooves are made in the upright face ofthe work by repeated blows of one or more picks moving on an upright axis, and, in order to make the necessary upright grooves, vone or more picks is or are applied tothe-carriage, and it or they receive motion in a similar manner from the comprssed-air engine.

Figure 1 is a plan of apparatus constructed according to our invention. a a is the frame ofthe carriage. It is mounted ou wheels, and is arranged withapparatus to move it forward and lock itin any desired position. This apparatus, however, is not shown in this drawing, but will be fullydescribed in reference to Fig. 4. b is a cylinder xed on the carriage, and c is the piston-rod thereof'. The admission ot' the air to the cylinder is regulated by a slidevalve, on the rod of which is a spring, d, which tends constantly to force the valve to one end of its stroke-viz., to that which will cause the piston to return after having caused the pick to strike a blow. In returning, a roller, e, on the head of the piston-rod strikes the leverand by so doing moves the valve, and

so sets it as irst to check the return ot' the` piston and then again to force it outward to.

cause the'pick to strike another blow, and as the piston-rod moves outward it will leave the lever f, and the valve is then carried back by its spring, and thus the reciprocating motion will be continued. These parts are clearly shown at Fig. 2, which is a side view of the cylinder and parts in connection therewith. g isa connecting-rod connecting the pistonrod with the crank-arm h' on the axis of the pick h. This axis is carried by the frame a, and the motion communicated to it will cause the pick to strike into the coal or mineral. A single blow of the pick will not cause it to eut to the depth required, but each time after the carriage has been moved forward a distance the piek is caused to make several blows in succession at the sameplaee until it descends to thedepth required. The pick may be arranged to work up and do :vn a short dis'- tanee upon its axis, in orderto cause it to clit a groove wider than the width ofthe pick.

When the-apparatus is required to produce vertical grooves, the picks are carried on horizontal axes, and we prefer for cutting the vertical grooves to employ two cylinders and two picks, the one. working upward and the other downward, as is shown at Fig. 3, which is La side view of thearrangement. One pick serves to remove the corner -whieh the other would otherwise leave.` `The two picks are not pnt to work at the Sametime, as they wouldiuteri'ere the one with the other. In place of using picks on lever-handles turning on axes, reciprocating picks orcutting-tools may be appliedy tothe carriage, and they or their' stems be slid and guided to and fro in suitable bearings, and be connected directly or by suitable .connectingrods to the piston` rod or rods of a compressed-air engine applied to the carriage, provision being made for raising and lowering the bearings of those euttingtools which produce the upright grooves. By these means the work lmay be divided into sections by grooves by the aid of compressed air and cutters combined, and arranged as herein explained, with great advantage.

Fig. 4 is a plan, Fig. 5 aside elevation, and

Figui; a frontelevation, ot' apparatus arranged in this manner. Aa is the frame of the carriage. It is mounted on "wheels b' b, carried by the axes c. d d are beveled wheels tixed on the axes and gearing with other beveled wheels, c e, on the axes of which is a worm-wheehf, and this works with a worm capable of being turned by the hand-wheel g, and thus the carriage is moved forward as required, and the same apparatus serves to lock Ithe carriage and retain it securely wherever it may be placed, even should the road be inclined. The above description applies also to the appa- 'of iron pipes. on them at intervals, in order that-a iiexible pipe may be attached to convey the air to the cylinder. 4 I

Having thus described the nature of our in-f ratus shown at Fig. 1. The carriage has t .vo cylinders in connection with it, one at each end, (or it may have one cylinder only,) and'tocarry them the ends of the .carriage are furnished with V-guides h, in which slides i work, and' these are supported by the bar j, pinjointed to it. The ends of the bar have small rollers on them, which run on the tram. The cylinder k is mounted on the slide, it being carried by a center-pin or axis l.' These arrangements are made' in order that any inequalities in the line of tram-road may not inju-rionsly affect v"the action of the appaiatus. m m are the rods of the pistons, which work in thecylinders k. They are made rectangular, iuorder that the stuffing-box may serve as a guide to prevent the piston-rod turning. The head of the pistonrod is furnished with a wedgeshaped tool suitable for cutting the coal or mineral. Compressed air is admitted to the cylinders to producethe required reciprocatin g action ofthe tools by means of cylindrical valves, (such as are well uuderstood,) .and by turning these in one direction t-he 'air is admitted behind the pistons to throwthcm forward to make a blow, and by 'turning the valves in the contrary direction the air is admitted in advance of the pistons to bring them back, while at the same time the air behindl the piston-is allowed to escape freely..t This motion is' given to tl'e valves by means of the hand-lever n, the mode of action ot which is clearly shown. The air to work the apparatus we prefer to compress at the mouth of thel pit by means of an airfpump' w'orked by the en'- gine, and we lead the air into the pit by means These have union pieces fixed vention and thejmanner of performing the same, we would have. it understood that we do not contine ourselves to the exact details described,nor do we-claim any of the mechanical parts separately; but

What we claim is- 1., The combined arrangementot mechanism herein explained with reference toFigs. 1. and 2of the drawings, whereby picks with leverhandles are actuated by compressed-air engines mounted on and carried by the same carriage as the picks.

.2. -The combinedarran gement of 'mechanism' herein explained with reference to Figs. 4-and 5-of the drawngs, whereby cutters are connected with and moved to and fro by the piston-rods of air-engines mounted on carriages,

as Iherein described.

G. E. DONISTHORPE. WILLIAM FIRTH. ROBERT RIDLEY.- Vvitnesses: GEORGE F. WARREN, Trios. BROWN, v Both of No. 17 Gracechurch street, London, 

